Technische Universität Berlin Explained

Technische Universität Berlin
Native Name Lang:de
Motto:German: Wir haben die Ideen für die Zukunft. Zum Nutzen der Gesellschaft.
Motto Lang:de
Mottoeng:We've got the brains for the future. For the benefit of society.[1] [2]
Type:Public
President:Geraldine Rauch (since 2022)
Students:35,570
City:Berlin
Country:Germany
Campus:Urban
Affiliation:TIME, TU9, EUA, CESAER, DFG, SEFI, PEGASUS, German Excellence Universities, Berlin University Alliance
Budget:€659.3 million (2022)[3]
Administrative Staff:2,258[4]
Academic Staff:3,120

German: Technische Universität Berlin|italic=unset (TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany.[5] It was the first German university to adopt the name "Technische Universität" (university of technology).[6]

The university alumni and staff includes several US National Academies members,[7] two National Medal of Science laureates,[8] [9] the creator of the first fully functional programmable (electromechanical) computer, Konrad Zuse, and ten Nobel Prize laureates.[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

TU Berlin is a member of TU9, an incorporated society of the largest and most notable German institutes of technology and of the Top International Managers in Engineering network,[15] which allows for student exchanges between leading engineering schools. It belongs to the Conference of European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research.[16] The TU Berlin is home of two innovation centers designated by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. The university is labeled as "The Entrepreneurial University" ("Die Gründerhochschule") by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.[17] [18]

The university is notable for having been the first to offer a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management (Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen). The university designed the degree in response to requests by industrialists for graduates with the technical and management training to run a company. First offered in winter term 1926/27, it is one of the oldest programmes of its kind.[19]

TU Berlin has one of the highest proportions of international students in Germany, almost 27% in 2019.[20] In addition, TU Berlin is part of the Berlin University Alliance, has been conferred the title of "University of Excellence" under and receiving funding from the German Universities Excellence Initiative.[21]

History

On 1 April 1879, the Königlich Technische Hochschule zu Berlin (en: "Royal Technical Academy of Berlin")[22] came into being in 1879 through a merger of the Königliche Gewerbeakademie zu Berlin (en: "Royal Trade Academy", founded in 1827) and Königliche Bauakademie zu Berlin (en: "Royal Building Academy", founded in 1799), two predecessor institutions of the Prussian State.[23]

In 1899, the Königlich Technische Hochschule zu Berlin was the first polytechnic in Germany to award doctorates, as a standard degree for the graduates, in addition to diplomas, thanks to professor Alois Riedler and Adolf Slaby, chairman of the Association of German Engineers (VDI) and the Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies (VDE).

In 1916 the long-standing Königliche Bergakademie zu Berlin, the Prussian mining academy created by the geologist Carl Abraham Gerhard in 1770 at the behest of King Frederick the Great, was incorporated into the Königlich Technische Hochschule as the "Department of Mining". Beforehand, the mining college had been, however, for several decades under the auspices of the Frederick William University (now Humboldt University of Berlin), before it was spun out again in 1860.

After Charlottenburg's absorption into Greater Berlin in 1920 and Germany becoming the Weimar Republic, the Königlich Technische Hochschule zu Berlin was renamed "Technische Hochschule zu Berlin" ("TH Berlin"). In 1927, the Department of Geodesy of the Agricultural College of Berlin was incorporated into the TH Berlin. During the 1930s, the redevelopment and expansion of the campus along the "East-West axis" were part of the Nazi plans of a Welthauptstadt Germania, including a new faculty of defense technology under General Karl Becker, built as a part of the greater academic town (Hochschulstadt) in the adjacent west-wise Grunewald forest. The shell construction remained unfinished after the outbreak of World War II and after Becker's suicide in 1940, it is today covered by the large-scale Teufelsberg rubble hill.

The north section of the main building of the university was destroyed during a bombing raid in November 1943.[24] Due to the street fighting at the end of the Second World War, the operations at the TH Berlin were suspended as of 20 April 1945. Planning for the re-opening of the school began on 2 June 1945, once the acting rectorship led by Gustav Ludwig Hertz and Max Volmer was appointed. As both Hertz and Volmer remained in exile in the Soviet Union for some time to come, the college was not re-inaugurated until 9 April 1946, now bearing the name "Technische Universität Berlin".

Since 2009 the TU Berlin has housed two Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KIC) designated by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.[25]

Name

The official policy of the university is that only the German name, Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), should be used abroad in order to promote corporate identity and that its name is not to be translated into English.[26] [27]

Campus

The TU Berlin covers 6040001NaN1, distributed over various locations in Berlin.The main campus is located in the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. The seven schools of the university have some 33,933 students enrolled in 90 subjects (October 2015).[28]

From 2012 to 2022, TU Berlin operated a satellite campus in Egypt, the El Gouna campus, to act as a scientific and academic field office. The nonprofit public–private partnership (PPP) aimed to offer services provided by Technische Universität Berlin at the campus in El Gouna on the Red Sea.[29]

The university also has a franchise of its Global Production Engineering coursecalled Global Production Engineering and Management at the Vietnamese-German University in Ho Chi Minh City.[30] [31]

Organization

Since 2002, the TU Berlin has consisted of the following faculties and institutes:[32]

Faculty and staff

As of 2015, 8,455 people work at the university: 338 professors, 2,598 postgraduate researchers, and 2,131 personnel work in administration, the workshops, the library, and the central facilities. In addition, there are 2,651 student assistants and 126 trainees.[40] International student mobility is available through the ERASMUS programme or through the Top Industrial Managers for Europe (TIME) network.

Library

The new common main library of Technische Universität Berlin and of the Berlin University of the Arts was opened in 2004[41] and holds about 2.9 million volumes (2007).[42] The library building was sponsored partially (estimated 10% of the building costs) by Volkswagen and is named officially "University Library of the TU Berlin and UdK (in the Volkswagen building)".[43]

Some of the former 17 libraries of Technische Universität Berlin and of the nearby University of the Arts were merged into the new library, but several departments still retain libraries of their own. In particular, the school of 'Economics and Management' maintains a library with 340,000 volumes in the university's main building (Die Bibliothek – Wirtschaft & Management/"The Library" – Economics and Management) and the 'Department of Mathematics' maintains a library with 60,000 volumes in the Mathematics building (Mathematische Fachbibliothek/"Mathematics Library").

Notable alumni and professors

(Including those of the Academies mentioned in the History section)

Rankings

Qs:=147
Qs N:8
Qs Year:2025
Qs Ref:[45]
The:=136
The N:12–13
The Year:2024
The Ref:[46]
Arwu:201–300
Arwu N:10–19
Arwu Year:2023
Arwu Ref:[47]

According to the QS World University Rankings 2025, TU Berlin was ranked 147th globally, making it the 8th best university in the country.[45] In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2023, the institution was ranked 136th globally and within the 12–13th range nationally.[46] The Academic Ranking of World Universities for 2023 positions TU Berlin within the 201–300 range globally and the 10–19 range within Germany.[47]

Measured by the number of top managers in the German economy, TU Berlin ranked 11th in 2019.[48]

According to the research report of the German Research Foundation (DFG) from 2018, TU Berlin ranked 24th absolute among German universities across all scientific disciplines. Thereby TU Berlin ranked 9th absolute in natural sciences and engineering. The TU Berlin took 14th place absolute in computer science and 5th place absolute in electrical engineering. In a competitive selection process, the DFG selects the best research projects from researchers at universities and research institutes and finances them. The ranking is thus regarded as an indicator of the quality of research.[49]

In the 2017 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the TU Berlin ranked 40th in the field of Engineering & Technology (3rd in Germany) and 36th in Computer science discipline (4th in Germany), making it one of the top 100 universities worldwide in all three measures.[50]

As of 2016, TU Berlin was ranked 35th in the field of Engineering & Technology according to the British QS World University Rankings. It was one of Germany's highest ranked universities in statistics and operations research and in Mathematics according to QS.[51]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Technische Universität Berlin. 21 July 2020. 16 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200716012639/https://www.tu.berlin/en/. live.
  2. Web site: Wir haben die Ideen für die Zukunft. Zum Nutzen der Gesellschaft. – Youtube. 22 July 2020. YouTube. 31 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200731194431/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVJffAhketM. live.
  3. Web site: Leistungsbericht über das Jahr 2022 zur Umsetzung des Hochschulvertrags . Federal state of Berlin . de . 8 April 2024 . 1 .
  4. Web site: Facts & Figures . Technische Universität Berlin . 24 July 2020 . 26 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200726214449/https://www.tu.berlin/en/about/profile/tu-berlin-statistics/ . live .
  5. Web site: TU Berlin: Site Credits. tu-berlin.de. 24 July 2020. 17 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200717043243/https://www.tu.berlin/en/footer/site-notice/. dead.
  6. Web site: Die erste 'Technische Universität'. 16 November 2019. 27 May 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180527060202/http://www.tu-berlin.de/menue/ueber_die_tu_berlin/profil_geschichte/geschichte/#c7279. live.
  7. Web site: National Academy of Sciences. 29 June 2015. 29 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110929175928/http://www.nasonline.org/. live.
  8. Web site: Eugene Wigner – Biographical. 29 June 2015. 12 October 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20071012131007/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1963/wigner-bio.html. live.
  9. [Wernher von Braun]
  10. Web site: Gustav Hertz – Biographical. 29 June 2015. 12 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150512153029/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1925/hertz-bio.html. live.
  11. Web site: Fritz Haber – Biographical. 29 June 2015. 12 February 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100212201251/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1918/haber-bio.html. live.
  12. Web site: Carl Bosch – Biographical. 29 June 2015. 4 October 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151004215123/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1931/bosch-bio.html. live.
  13. Web site: About us . Master of Space Engineering . 28 February 2021 . 11 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200711150433/http://www.mse.tu-berlin.de/about-us/tu-berlin/ . live .
  14. Web site: Konrad Zuse (1910–1995) . Jürgen . Schmidhuber . Jürgen Schmidhuber . . 21 November 2023.
  15. Web site: T.I.M.E. Top Industrial Managers for Europe. 22 December 2017. 7 November 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141107210554/https://www.time-association.org/members. live.
  16. Web site: Germany. Brainlane – SiteLab CMS v2. 29 June 2015. 10 August 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180810072619/http://www.cesaer.org/en/members/germany/. dead.
  17. Web site: EXIST competition guide. 16 November 2019. 31 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150531012546/http://www.exist.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Leitfaden-Antrag-Gruendungshochschule-zweiter-Wettbewerb.pdf?__blob=publicationFile. live.
  18. Web site: Fuer-Gruender 21 Entrepreneurial University. 16 November 2019. 16 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191116144403/https://www.fuer-gruender.de/kapital/foerdermittel/zuschuss/exist-gruenderstipendium/exist-gruenderhochschulen/. live.
  19. Book: Jens, Weibezahn. 2016. Studienführer für den Studiengang Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen. de. 10.14279/depositonce-5501. 9783798328655. Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin. 14 July 2018. 15 July 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180715011118/https://depositonce.tu-berlin.de/handle/11303/5908. live.
  20. Web site: Die Technische Universität Berlin in Daten und Zahlen . 21 February 2020 . 29 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210329002442/https://www.tu.berlin/ueber-die-tu-berlin/profil/tu-berlin-in-zahlen/#c91200 . live .
  21. Web site: Excellence Strategy. 18 June 2020. 26 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200726202732/https://www.dfg.de/sites/exu-karte/en.html. live.
  22. Katzer. Anton. Raguse. Roberto. 16 July 2015. Die Technische Universität Berlin. Die Technische Universität Berlin. de. 10.14279/depositonce-4879. 21 July 2020. 7 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200807212414/https://depositonce.tu-berlin.de/handle/11303/5176. live.
  23. Web site: History of the University. 21 July 2020. tu.berlin. 17 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200717045645/https://www.tu.berlin/en/about/history/history-of-the-university/.
  24. https://www.tu-berlin.de/fileadmin/a70100710/Dokumentationen/Geschichte/UB_TU_125Jahre_20091013_booklet_s30-38.pdf Entstehung und Bedeutung
  25. Web site: EIT ICT Labs – Turn Europe into a global leader in ICT Innovation. TU Berlin. 16 October 2016. 18 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161018215714/https://www.entrepreneurship.tu-berlin.de/menue/masterprogramme_qualifizierung/eit_ict_labs/. live.
  26. Web site: TU Berlin: Impressum. TU Berlin . de. 24 May 2020.
  27. Web site: Corporate Design Manual . TU Berlin . de. 24 May 2020.
  28. Web site: TU Berlin: Facts & Figures. 29 June 2015. 25 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150425170759/http://www.tu-berlin.de/menue/ueber_die_tu_berlin/zahlen_fakten/parameter/en/. live.
  29. Web site: TUB Campus El Gouna: Home. 29 June 2015. 17 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150617013703/http://www.campus-elgouna.tu-berlin.de/. live.
  30. Web site: GPE Global Production Engineering: Home. gpe.tu-berlin.de. en-EN. 21 March 2017. 22 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170322015252/http://www.gpe.tu-berlin.de/index.php?id=3. live.
  31. Web site: Global Production Engineering and Management. vgu.edu.vn. 21 March 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170322014551/http://www.vgu.edu.vn/studies/master/international-production-engineering-and-management/. 22 March 2017.
  32. Web site: Faculties & Central Institutes. 21 July 2020. tu.berlin. 17 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200717062956/https://www.tu.berlin/en/about/organization/faculties-central-institutes/. live.
  33. Web site: Fakultät I Geisteswissenschaften: Institute und Zentren / Professuren / Fachgebiete. I. FSC. tu-berlin.de. 2 January 2017. 3 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170103094258/http://www.tu-berlin.de/fakultaet_i/menue/einrichtungen/institute_und_zentren_professuren_fachgebiete/. live.
  34. Web site: Fakultät II – Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften: Institute. naturwissenschaften.tu-berlin.de. 2 January 2017. 3 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170103094258/http://www.naturwissenschaften.tu-berlin.de/menue/einrichtungen/institute/. live.
  35. Web site: Fakultät III Prozesswissenschaften: Institute. tu-berlin.de. 2 January 2017. 3 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170103094324/http://www.tu-berlin.de/fak_3/menue/einrichtungen/institute/. live.
  36. Web site: Fakultät IV Elektrotechnik und Informatik: Institute. Webmaster. eecs.tu-berlin.de. 2 January 2017. 21 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170121165534/http://www.eecs.tu-berlin.de/menue/einrichtungen/institute/. live.
  37. Web site: Fakultät VI Planen Bauen Umwelt: Institute. Lehre. Referat Studium und. planen-bauen-umwelt.tu-berlin.de. 2 January 2017. 3 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170103094258/http://www.planen-bauen-umwelt.tu-berlin.de/menue/institute/. live.
  38. Web site: Fakultät VII Wirtschaft & Management: Einrichtungen. webmaster. wm.tu-berlin.de. 2 January 2017. 3 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170103094258/http://www.wm.tu-berlin.de/menue/einrichtungen/. live.
  39. Web site: TU Berlin: Fakultätsübersicht. tu-berlin.de. 2 January 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170118164522/http://www.tu-berlin.de/menue/fakultaeten/. 18 January 2017.
  40. Web site: TU Berlin: Facts & Figures. 17 October 2016. 16 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161016153708/http://www.tu-berlin.de/menue/ueber_die_tu_berlin/zahlen_fakten#91200. live.
  41. Web site: Universitätsbibliothek TU Berlin: About Us. 22 December 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120305152231/http://www.ub.tu-berlin.de/index.php?id=555#content10219. 5 March 2012.
  42. Web site: Universitätsbibliothek TU Berlin: About Us. 22 December 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120305152231/http://www.ub.tu-berlin.de/index.php?id=555#content2195. 5 March 2012.
  43. Web site: Universitätsbibliothek TU Berlin: Startseite. Universitätsbibliothek der Technischen Universität Berlin. Universitätsbibliothek TU Berlin. 29 June 2015. 27 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150627085208/http://www.ub.tu-berlin.de/. live.
  44. Web site: (IISS) . International Institute for Strategic Studies . Bhutto was father of Pakistan's Atom Bomb Program . International Institute for Strategic Studies . 2006 . 2 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20120314025504/http://www.iiss.org/whats-new/iiss-in-the-press/press-coverage-2007/may-2007/bhutto-was-father-of-pakistani-bomb/?locale=en. 14 March 2012.
  45. Web site: QS World University Rankings 2025. 5 June 2024. QS World University Rankings.
  46. Web site: World University Rankings 2024. 27 September 2023. Times Higher Education World University Rankings. 27 September 2023.
  47. Web site: 2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities. Academic Ranking of World Universities. 15 August 2023.
  48. Web site: An diesen Unis haben die DAX-Vorstände studiert charly.education. charly.education. de. 15 October 2019. 2 August 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190802092251/https://www.charly.education/presse/dax-karriere. live.
  49. Web site: Aufgaben der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). dfg.de. de. 14 October 2019. 10 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190410124650/https://www.dfg.de/dfg_profil/aufgaben/index.html. live.
  50. Web site: The Times Higher Education World University Rankings. TU Berlin. 25 March 2019. 11 March 2017. 26 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170426112816/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/technical-university-of-berlin#ranking-dataset/589595. live.
  51. Web site: QS World University Ranking. Top Universities. 16 July 2015. 4 April 2017. 5 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170405082242/https://www.topuniversities.com/universities/technische-universit%C3%A4t-berlin-tu-berlin. live.